Both sexes have chestnut brown wings (like a House
Sparrow), a grey-brown mantle, pinkish-buff breast, white belly and, of
course, a distinctive white throat. The tail is bordered with white.

Where the male has a grey crown, nape and ear coverts, the female is
brown.

The bill is greyish-brown and the legs are pale brown. The eye is pale
brown with a white eye ring.

Scientific Name

Sylvia communis

Length

14 cm (4½")

Wing Span

18-23 cm (7-9")

Weight

12-18 g (½ oz)

Breeding Pairs

600000

Present

Summer

Status

Amber

Voice

The Whitethroat's scratchy song has a jolty rhythm, which it usually sings
from a prominent perch.

Whitethroats normally skulk in bushes and hedges, but when it is sunny
they will often perch at the top of a bush and sing with gusto. They are
also very inquisitive and will perch at the top of the bush to investigate, before
scolding the intruder with a rapid churring call.

Feeding

In the breeding season they eat mainly insects, especially beetles,
caterpillars and bugs. Towards the end of the summer and into the autumn they
turn increasingly to berries.

Nesting

Grass and roots are used by the male bird to build a deep cup-shaped
nest. The female then chooses a nest and lines it with hair, down and
wool. The nest is wedged in shrubs.

The duties of incubating the eggs are performed by both parents. The eggs are
about 18 mm by 14 mm, smooth and glossy, pale blue or green with olive-grey
speckles. Both adults feed the young birds.

Breeding Starts

Clutches

Eggs

Incubation (days)

Fledge (days)

early May

1-2

3-7

11-13

10-12

Movements

The Whitethroat is a summer visitor (May to August) to woodland, heath and scrub.
They migrate to Africa, south
of the Sahara, for the winter.

Conservation

The Whitethroat population crashed by about 70% between the 1968 and 1969
breeding seasons owing to droughts in the Whitethroat's wintering grounds in
the western Sahel (a region of savannah south of the Sahara, stretching across
the continent). Since then their numbers have been slowly recovering but are
still only a fraction of their pre-crash level.